St. Mark’s Square, Venice

Piazza San Marco, Venezia

St. Mark’s Square as the Venice's principal square is full of history and surrounded by gr eat

architecture. Several of Venice's major sights are located here, such as Piazza San Marco, St.

Mark's Basilica, bell tower and Doge's Palace. The history of the Piazza San Marco can be

conveniently covered in a long period, but the only pre-renaissance buildings and monuments

still standing there are St Mark's, the Doge's Palace and the two great columns in the Piazzetta.

St. Mark’s Square

In 19th century, Piazza San Marco was constructed in front of the St. Mark's Basilica, as a small

square dotted with trees. At that time, the square becomes a central gathering place for

Venetians, enlarged in 1174 after the canal and an adjoining dock were filled in.

The square was paved with bricks in 1267, but replaced with natural stone in 1735 and laid in

a more complicated pattern according to a design devised by architect Andrea Tirali that

marked the location where merchants could set up their stalls.

The centerpiece of the piazza is the St. Mark's Basilica. In 1071, commissioned by doge

Domenico Contarini is built in Venetian-Byzantine style. Since 1807, it has been the seat of the

Patriarch of Venice, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice.

The basilica has a separate campanile-bell tower (98.6m). It is one of the city's most

recognizable landmarks. The current version was rebuilt in 1912 after the original tower built

in 9th century collapsed in 1902. Additionally,

the other dominant building around St.

Mark's Square is the Doge's Palace. A Gothic

structure completed in the early fifteenth

century, used to function as Doge’s residence

and the supreme authority of Venice. Portions

of it were rebuilt after a fire in 1574 and now

open as a museum.

St. Mark's Basilica

With its history and diverse usages: tourism, art and humanities, religion and government

administration, St. Mark’s Square is not only a popular spot for tourists but also important for

local residences and has been considered as the city center of Venice.

Hotels, luxury shops, cafes and restaurants are all located on the square. The famous “Carnival

of Venice” is also held here every February. On the south side of the square, the Procuratie

Nuove building includes a gallery, library and museum. Across the square, Procuratie Vecchie

building nowadays houses offices.

Carnival of Venice 2015